Many computer applications employ user interfaces to provide information to users. In some instances, however, a user may need additional information that is not presently displayed but that may be accessible through one or more menus or other tools. One method of presenting this additional information is through the use of a popup interface. These popup interfaces may be configured to dynamically surface, or appear, when a user directs particular input to a target element that is being displayed within the user interface. In particular, these popup interfaces can be configured to display various “context information” associated with the target element. By way of example, the user input may include a hovering action (e.g., from a computer mouse) over a particular target element.
One problem with existing popup interfaces (particularly with regard to one type of a popup interface that is traditionally referred to as a “bubble tooltip”) is how they are displayed. In particular, traditional systems display their popup interfaces using hardcoded location coordinates on a user interface template. Because these traditional systems use hardcoded location coordinates, the resulting popup interfaces are always rendered in a fixed position relative to a target element's location. Even further, existing schemes for positioning a popup interface relative to a target element are also limited because the existing positioning schemes fail to account for potential changes to the target element's position when that target element is rendered on the user interface.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is provided to illustrate only one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.